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Tournament Blog - Central NY Open

Tournament Blog - Central NY Open

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thechessbrewer
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This Friday will be my travel day to The Central NY Open in Syracuse NY, held in the Hall of Languages. Last year, this was my first tournament in over 25 years and I scored 2/5 which was a disappointment but I learned a ton that day. 

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This year I've been prepping for the tournament which is somewhat new to me. Last year I certainly "reviewed" a few things and had a repertoire more or less in place but it was extremely loose compared to this year. Excitement level is high to say the least. 

I've been going through "Amateur to IM" by Jonathan Hawkins and I really can't recommend it enough. Chess is funny when it comes learning, we're all different, but I really enjoy and comprehend the methodologies in this book. Of course, the Silman Bible is always floating around too. 

Prep Focus Points

1. Tactics - I really spent dedicated time working on tactics and I've seen the results. My pattern recognition is definitely improved as well just being more efficient with spotting tactical positions and spending some time to see if they are there. 

2. Opening Repertoires - Last year I really breezed through this with just some basics in mind and I was really uncomfortable with the White pieces especially. This year I've managed to reinvent my entire repertoire with a comprehensive plan in place on each side of the board. I know that sounds elementary but for me it didn't come easy. The main thing this did for me was establish confidence no matter what color I'm playing. Maybe this is a future post in itself.

3. Master Games - This took me forever to get into. I just wasn't getting enough out of playing through master games, now I've developed a system that works for me when I do so and the benefits can't be understated. 

4. Self Analysis of Practice Games - I've been analyzing EVERY GAME lately even if I feel there's nothing in there worth the time. By doing this, I'm identifying patterns of play that both benefit and hinder my performance and I'm able to construct methods to tighten those portions of my game up. One note on this, when using an engine, sometimes the line suggested just isn't a "human line" and you have to be able to understand that or you'll go nuts. 

I'll be trying to blog after each round as I analyze my games. Please wish me luck!